Planting

After a stop at Starbucks this morning, my friend and I took off to the greenhouse. She has a nice big garden to stock with vegetables and herbs. And I, after such great success with my indoor herb garden last year, was out to start a new, bigger indoor herb garden.

Note: my blog is not, nor has it ever claimed to be, a photo blog. Therefore, I did not feel the need to go retake my pictures after I realized they were blurry and not-in-focus.

Last year, if you'll remember, I only had one planter (the front one). Obviously, I have stepped it up a little. Why? Because I love cooking with fresh herbs! They add a tremendous amount of flavor to veggies, sauces, and any other dish! The cashier actually asked, "Are you going to cook with all these herbs?" Why else would I buy them???

First, I have 2 basil plants. Basil will be used for pesto, caprese salads, and tabbouleh - all great summer dishes! Last year my basil was out of control, so if you ever need any I'm sure I will have some to spare.

Actually, the oregano is an herb I wasn't planning to plant. I don't use it all that often, but I will put it in pasta sauces and on pizza.

Next is the flat-leaf or Italian parsley. I use this is lots of dishes, including tabouleh. It has a great flavor. My parsley also went crazy last year, so I'll share!

I really wanted garlic chives, but in plant-form they only had onion. I think these will go well on baked potatoes, but not really sure what else. Any suggestions?

Next are 2 coriander plants - aka cilantro! This is my favorite. I just learned today that the leaves of a coriander plant are what we call cilantro; the seeds are what we use when we say, "coriander." Anyway, this will be used in our homemade indian dish, among other things. It's hard to not love this herb!

Finally, we have spearmint - another all-time favorite. It will also go into tabouleh (notice a theme) and into iced tea. Plus, I may just go smell it every once in a while. I put this one in a pot of its own since my last spearmint plant grew into an insane bush. Hopefully, I will use it more this time!

I really did want garlic chives. So, I bought seeds. I have no idea how to plant them, so I just scattered them in this pot. I'll keep you updated on what happens...if anything!

When I think of my childhood summers, I think of fresh vegetables - mainly cucumbers and tomatoes. I loved going out to the garden and eating cherry tomatoes off the plant. So, I got one cherry tomato plant for outside. This variety is actually an orange tomato and is super sweet. It is more like dessert than veggie. It is going to be hard to wait until for them to grow!

I'm so exited to watch my plants grow. I'm even more excited to use them!